Marc Jacobs Blacquer Highliner Gel Eyeliner Crayon Review+Swatches

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Marc Jacobs' makeup line has been receiving rave reviews almost across the board since it's launch, and one of his most popular and highly acclaimed products has been the Highliner Gel Eyeliner Crayons. Marc describes his Highliners as "extreme-wear, waterproof eyeliner. Like a gel pot eyeliner encased within a crayon, this breakthrough product is exclusive to Marc Jacobs Beauty. The super-malleable formula glides on smoothly for a flawless, precise application, and then sets in place for all-day wear. A built-in sharpener makes sure the crayon always has a perfect point for a sharp look on the go. It offers intense color payoff and is available in an array of richly pigmented shades." The Highliner Gel Eyeliner Crayons are available in 23 shades, my review features Blacquer, which, like many of us, I received in my Sephora birthday gift. The full size of this eyeliner retails for $25 ($36AUD). Marc Jacobs beauty is cruelty free and sold exclusively at Sephora.

Marc Jacobs' Highliners come in sleek silver pencil with a color matched base. The full sized version has a built in sharpener, but unfortunately my deluxe sample doesn't share that handy little feature. Packaging is more than just aesthetically pleasing, it's also quite functional - product twists up and down easily, and the rounded cap always stays firmly in place. One caveat? It doesn't seem to be recyclable.

Some of my favorite YouTubers, including the always trustworthy Jennifer Wan, have sung the praises of Marc Jacobs' Blacquer Highliner, so when I picked up my Sephora birthday gift, I was thrilled to give it a try. Initially, I loved this gel eyeliner! The consistency was creamy, and it had a fantastic glide to it - Blacquer layed down a rich, slightly glossy black line in just one stroke. However, I noticed over time that it was becoming drier and drier. Half way through the product, it started to drag on the skin, and it wasn't providing as much color on the water line. Pigmentation began to suffer, and the once jet black color softened into more of an ebony. I've never had a gel eyeliner pencil dry out on me the way a potted eyeliner would. It's strange and incredibly disappointing. The one thing that hasn't changed is Blacquer's dependable wear! Aside from a few forgiveable instances of smudging on a 90F+ day, Marc Jacobs' Highliner doesn't budge or fade. Before it dried out, Blacquer was one of my top picks for the tight lining because it never dropped from the top waterline to the bottom - it always stayed where I put it. Despite it's longevity, I hadn't found this eyeliner too difficult to remove.

[The best I can manage with how dry it's become]

I have very mixed feelings about Marc Jacobs' Highliner in Blacquer. It's hard to ignore the sleek and attractive packaging and designer branding, but honestly there are much better, more affordable gel liner pencils out there. Had Blacquer not dried out on me, it would've gotten a glowing review from me, but due to unfortunate circumstances, I can't recommend this luxury liner. I'll be sticking with Pixi's Endless Silky Eye Pencils, thanks.

I bought something at Sephora and got the birthday gift with it. Since it is tooooo out of my budget I've never read much about it. I found this page in my research though. I just want to say that this mini me probably dried out because of something wrong with the cap. I've read that MJ took this line (the full version) from shelfs to correct the problem.